Dreamswork

Tuesday, February 03, 2015

Somewhere on my facebook newsfeed, I read that somebody, an artist, was
feeling a lack of direction or motivation or something… they felt they
were wasting their materials, and didn’t know what to do.

I’ve been
thinking about that today. When I feel like that, these are some of the
things I do:

1. If painting, I restrict my palette.

2. I stop trying to paint, and draw or collage instead.

3. I read some art books and magazines. I especially like reading interviews in Juxtapoz.

4. I work in a journal. Stick in attractive shapes, colours, images
from magazines (I don’t cut my precious art mags). I draw. I write
ideas. If you need help getting started in journalling try something like:She Possible by Diana Howes

5. I plan a work or a series in detail so that I know exactly what I am going to do before I start using materials.

6. I look at the image or painting I am creating, and try to see other
things in it, shapes, shadows, figures, that are not what my intention
was, and try to draw it out, sometimes using a charcoal pencil and
return to paint later.

7. I put music on in the studio, or change the music, or turn it off and work in silence.Pandora Radio 8. I work with my other hand, ie I am right-handed, so I work with my left instead. 9. I focus on exploring the material I am working with rather than a subject.

10. If painting, I put the brushes down and use other implements. Not
just palette knife. Bamboo sticks, scrunched up card, rag… the idea
being to play with mark making.

About Me

Artist in mixed media, painting, drawing, collage and photography. My drawings and photography are often a beginning point in my artwork and I’ve explored the shapes from these images in painting, in textural layers on canvas or paper, working in acrylics and mixed media. Much of my work has been figurative based on life drawings, but I also create abstract works.
Author of non-fiction books and currently writing novels.
Bachelor of Arts (English, Writing, History).Graduate Diploma of Secondary Teaching . Advanced Diploma in Art & Creativity - http://bit.ly/1zkAYj5

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... the contemplation of the form of the model, a fellow human being, may be compared to an act of humility in which the artist temporarily forgets his or her physical frailties and imperfections and marvels at the diversity possible within the human form.

"Mine and body"

Acrylic on canvas 36" x 24" - there is much mythology about the earth, the land as earth mother, and this painting is a visual metaphor for how I feel about mining - the land as the body, the earth mother, and the layers of the land, vulnerable, scarred, powerless.

Mixed Media

Defining Beauty

Paper Collage

Red Nude

Mixed Media drawing

Waiting 2

Acryic on Canvas 10" x 30"

Waiting 1

Acrylic on Canvas 10" x 30"

Chain Reaction

This the first of a new series.

Submission

Acrylic on Canvas, 15" x 30"

Extracts from Trapped Self

Acrylic on canvas, 20" x 36" Painted on a winter's day, feeling the aching cold I attacked this canvas which did create some heat, it glows from her body.

"Then how shall we track your journey"

Acrylic on canvas, 24" x 36" In this image I thought of the machinery removing the gold and silver from below the ground, and mythology about the Greek god Hades. Hades was the god of wealth, he owned all of the precious gems and minerals that lay below the surface of the earth.

"Soul and mine illuminate"

Acrylic on canvas, 36" x 24" - the colours of the exposed earth are different depending on the time of day, the light and the viewpoint. There is now a walkway around much of the perimeter of the open cast gold mine operating here in New Zealand.

Warm Winter

This is based on my photograph of the sunset at Waitete Bay and incorporating figures taken from a life drawing class - last year one of the models brought her husband along to pose as well. The title comes from a Kid Rock song that made me think about the myth of Persephone who was taken down into the dark depths of the underworld by Hades, God of the Underworld. Acrylic media on canvas 32 x 39 inches.